Networked peripheral for visitor greeting, identification, biographical lookup and tracking

ABSTRACT

According to the invention, a visitor kiosk for the capture and storage of personal information about visitors. The visitor kiosk is placed at the entry point to a facility being monitored. Each visitor signs in at the kiosk. Their business card and an image of their face are scanned. If they do not have a business card, their name and company are entered manually. They also enter the name of the person they are visiting and the purpose for their visit. The person they are visiting is notified of the arrival of the visitor by email or by voice telephone. The data about the visitor is stored locally or remotely. Automatic lookups of various information about the visitor are performed and communicated to the person being visited. A network interface allows users to enter information about visitors they are expecting to arrive. A telephone interface is provided for input of voice greetings as well as checking on the arrival status of visitors.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of and claims priority fromU.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 09/714,785 (AttorneyDocket No. 015358-006110US), filed Nov. 15, 2000, which claims priorityfrom and is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/166,081 (Attorney Docket No. 015358-006100US), filed Nov. 17, 1999,the entire disclosures of these applications are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to techniques for automatedinformation collection, and specifically to systems and apparatus forgathering information about visitors.

Everyday, in work places throughout the world, visitors are received atplaces of business, government agencies, real estate offices and soforth. The visitor is often greeted by a receptionist, who offers thevisitor a sign-in sheet to record information about the visit. Thevisitor writes her name, place of business, person to be visited and thelike in the sign-in sheet. In some cases, this information might beentered into a computer database manually by a receptionist or asecurity officer. Such information is typically used for securitypurposes. Sometimes, the visitor will be issued a guest pass, oridentity badge to announce her presence. The receptionist often notifiesthe person to be visited that the visitor has arrived. These activitiesoccur so often that they have become part of the culture in the U.S. andmany other countries as well.

Opportunities for improving techniques for gathering information aboutvisitors exist. Since the entry point to an office is one place wherepeople are required to identify themselves, valuable data about thevisitor can be readily gathered at this point.

What is needed are improved techniques for automating the collecting ofinformation about visitors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides techniques for collecting informationabout visitors. In one embodiment, the present invention provides avisitor kiosk system for the greeting, identification, biographicallookup, and tracking of visitors to a facility. The visitor kiosk isplaced at the entry point of the facility being monitored. Each visitorto the facility “signs-in” at the kiosk. The visitor's business card isscanned, and an image of the visitor is obtained. If the visitor doesnot have a business card, the visitor's name and company name can beentered manually. In specific embodiments, the visitor's speech is alsorecorded. The visitor also enters a name of a person to be visited and apurpose for the visit. The person to be visited is notified of thearrival of the visitor by email or by voice telephone. The data aboutthe visitor can be stored locally or remotely. Automatic lookups ofvarious kinds of information about the visitor are performed andcommunicated to the person being visited. A network interface allowsusers to enter information about visitors they are expecting to arrive,as well as to make notes about the visit after the visitor leaves. Atelephone interface provides the capability to input voice messages, aswell as check the status of visitors.

In a representative embodiment according to the present invention, avisitor information gathering apparatus is provided. The apparatus canbe embodied as a kiosk that comprises a display; one or more inputdevices; a storage; a processor; and one or more sensors. The processorcaptures information about visitors from inputs to the input devicesmade responsive to prompts provided by the processor through thedisplay, as well as information obtained from the sensors. Then, theprocessor stores the information about the visitors. In specificembodiments, the input devices can be any of a touch screen, a keyboard,a mouse, trackball, touch pad, a combination thereof, or other types ofinput devices. The apparatus may display a greeting on the display. Thegreeting can be customized to the interests of visitors, and can includea slide show of product images, advertising, stock values, dailycartoons, and news, for example. The sensors can include any of abusiness card scanner, a microphone, a video camera, a speaker, adocking station for obtaining information from one or more visitorwands, a handwriting tablet, one or more biological or biometricsensors, and/or one or more security sensors. The information about thevisitors includes one or more of a name, an organization represented bythe visitor, a purpose of a visit, a date and/or time of the visit, aperson to be visited, and an identity of a group visiting together.Furthermore, other kinds of information can be provided by the sensorsattached to the apparatus. For example, the microphone can record asample of the visitor's speech, the video camera can record images ofthe visitor, the handwriting tablet can record the visitor's signature.Some information about the visitor is gathered from the sensors withoutthe visitor being aware of the gathering. This is referred to as“unconscious capture” herein. Other information is gathered from thevisitor with the visitor's knowledge and awareness. This type ofinformation gathering is referred to as “conscious capture.” These termsare not intended to be limiting.

In certain specific embodiments, various types of interfaces can connectthe kiosk to users of information. For example, a telephony interfacecan provide telephone connections via the public switched telephonenetwork. One or more network interfaces can connect the kiosk to one ormore networks for communications. A public server can be communicatedwith using the connection to the network and network interface, forexample. Further, a local server can connect one or more kiosks to oneor more users of information using a local area network (LAN), forexample. The local server provides a storage place for holdinginformation about visitors.

In a specific embodiment, the business card scanner scans one or bothsides of a business card having printing on one or both sides. Then, ifthe computer detects the presence of text on one or both sides, itprocesses the text in accordance with the language of the text. The textis processed using an OCR software in a particular embodiment.

In another representative embodiment according to the present invention,a method for collecting information about visitors is provided. Themethod can comprise a variety of elements, such as for example,gathering information about the visitors in an interactive session withan automated kiosk. Placing the information into a format in which theinformation may be stored is also part of the method. The methodincludes storing the information for retrieval. Storage is done eitherlocally, or remotely is specific embodiments. Automatically obtaininginformation about the visitor from one or more sources and providing theinformation about the visitor is also part of the method. Theinformation gathered at the kiosk can be provided to persons interestedin the information. In specific embodiments, the obtaining informationabout the visitor from one or more sources can be one or more ofperforming a search on the Internet, searching a publicly availabledatabase, searching a database of visitor information obtained from thekiosk, searching a local database, as well as others. Further, in somespecific embodiments, the obtaining information can include sensinginformation about the visitor without said visitor's awareness(unconscious capture), as well as obtaining information about thevisitor with prompts and the like, of which the visitor is aware(conscious capture).

In a further representative embodiment according to the presentinvention, a system for tracking activity within a facility is provided.The system can comprise a plurality of locator apparatuses; a network,interconnecting the plurality of locator apparatuses; and one or moreportable visitor wands. The portable visitor wands communicate anidentity of an associated visitor to one or more locator apparatuses,and the locator apparatuses track position of a visitor based upon thecommunicated identities. In specific embodiments, the visitor wands canbe handheld wand like apparatuses, personal data assistants (PDAs),active badges, portable telephone like apparatuses, and the like. Thecommunication link between the locator apparatuses and the visitor wandscan be any of an infrared communication link, a radio communicationlink, an optical communication link, sensing a magnetic card, atelephone communication link, a pager communication link, or aBluetooth™ communication link. Bluetooth™ is a wireless protocolstandard developed by the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group. (see, e.g.,www.bluetooth.com).

In specific embodiments, one or more logs are created that record theexchange of identifies communicated from the visitor wands to thelocator apparatuses. One type of log, called a “personal history”provides a record of the locator apparatuses visited by a particularvisitor. Another type of log, called a “location history” provides arecord of the visitors who visited a particular locator apparatus.

In a yet further representative embodiment, the present inventionprovides an apparatus for automatically populating a database. Theapparatus comprises a display; one or more input devices; a storage; anda processor. The processor captures information from the input devices.This information is entered by the visitor responsive to promptsprovided by the processor through the display. The processor stores theinformation about visitors into the storage. The information includespersonnel information that may be used to annotate documents is aspecific embodiment. Further, in certain specific embodiments, thepersonnel information is used to replace one or more names by hypertextlinks to the personnel information.

In a still yet further representative embodiment, a method for providingan image is provded. The method comprises automatically capturing one ormore images of a person. The method also includes providing to theperson the images so captured. Receiving from the person an indicationof a preferred image that is selected from among the images is also partof the method.

Numerous benefits are achieved by way of the present invention overconventional techniques. The present invention can provide automatedtechniques for gathering, organizing, retrieving and archivinginformation about visitors. Specific embodiments can capture informationabout a visitor and the visit either with (conscious capture) or without(unconscious capture) the visitor's knowledge.

These and other benefits are described throughout the presentspecification. A further understanding of the nature and advantages ofthe invention herein may be realized by reference to the remainingportions of the specification and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a representative visitorgreeting and information collecting kiosk in a specific embodimentaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a representative visitor greetingand information collecting apparatus in a specific embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate representative visitor wands in various specificembodiments according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a representative hardwareimplementation for a visitor wand in a specific embodiment according tothe present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a representative flowchart of processing visitorinformation in a specific embodiment according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A-6M illustrate representative screens displayed during arepresentative greeting session with a specific embodiment according tothe present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a representative example of visitor wand tracking ina specific embodiment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a representative HTML description of a visitorinstance in a specific embodiment according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides techniques for the capture and storage ofpersonal information about visitors. In a presently preferredembodiment, the invention provides an interactive visitor kiosk that isplaced at the entry point of a facility. Each visitor to the facility isinvited to “sign-in” at the kiosk. During the sign-in process, the kioskcollects certain information about the visitor and her visit. Thevisitor's business card is scanned, and an image of the visitor isobtained. If the visitor does not have a business card, the visitor'sname and company name can be entered manually. In specific embodments,the visitor's speech is also recorded. The visitor also enters a name ofa person to be visited and a purpose for the visit. The person to bevisited is notified of the arrival of the visitor by email or by voicetelephone. The data about the visitor can be stored locally and/orremotely. A variety of information about the visitor is searched forautomatically, and the results communicated to the person being visited.A network interface allows users at the facility to enter informationabout visitors they are expecting. A telephone interface provides amechanism to input voice greetings as well as checking on the arrivalstatus of visitors.

FIG. 1 illustrates a representative visitor kiosk in a specificembodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a visitorwelcome area 10 that includes a stationary visitor kiosk 100, and aplurality of portable greeting devices 300, also known as “visitorwands.” The present invention provides a variety of embodiments thatimplement the visitor kiosk 100. Different specific embodiments canprovide a variety of capabilities depending upon the configuration ofcomponents and processes that comprise the embodiment. The visitor kiosk100 is preferably implemented using a computer, such as a personalcomputer (PC). The computer can have a touch screen, for example, and/ora keyboard or keypad to enable visitors to enter information. However,other input devices, such as touch pads, track devices, joy sticks,mouse and the like can also be used in various specific embodimentsaccording to the present invention. The use of buttons on the touchscreen can obviate the need for a keyboard and the like in certainapplications. However, in other applications, the visitor kiosk 100 canalso include a keyboard.

The user interface of the visitor kiosk 100 can use any of a pluralityof different languages to communicate with the visitor. The visitor canchoose a preferred language at the initial login screen. Prompts in theuser interface can be supplemented with spoken directions. Music can beadded to improve the visitor's experience, especially if the visitormust wait for the person to be visited. The user interface of thevisitor kiosk 100 can capture the name of the visitor, the organizationthey represent, the purpose for their visit, and related events, such asfor example, that the visitor is also in the United States to attendComdex™. The date and time of the visit and the person to be visited canbe entered manually or chosen from a list. Whether the visitor is alone,or a member of a group visiting together can also be collected by thevisitor kiosk 100.

The user interface can display a greeting for visitors to view.Greetings can include a variety of types of information, such as a slideshow of images or products, advertisements, updated stock values, anddaily cartoons, for example. Information can be selected according tolocal preferences and varied depending upon the nature of the facilityand the anticipated preferences of the audience. In specificembodiments, the date of a visitor's most recent previous visit isincorporated into the greeting for that visitor. The data about thevisitor's prior visits can be saved locally by the visitor kioskcomputer 100 in order to prepare this type of greeting for visitors.Also, this data can be used to output a log of all visits during a giventime period. Such requests can be searched by a range of dates, times,company names, persons to be visited, and the like, for example.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a representative visitor greetingand information collecting apparatus in a specific embodiment accordingto the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates various components andinterfaces of the visitor kiosk 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 illustratesrepresentative visitor kiosk 100 integrated into a visitor informationsystem. The visitor kiosk 100 is enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 2.Visitor kiosk 100 includes a computer 202 connected with a variety ofsensors, input/output devices, and interfaces. For example, computer 202exchanges information with a microphone 204, a video camera 206, aspeaker 208, a docking station for visitor wands 210, a handwritingtablet 212, one or more biological or biometric sensors 214, and abusiness card scanner 216. Some specific embodiments include a subset ofthese components, while other specific embodiments can include elementsother than those depicted in FIG. 2. Also, kiosk 100 can include variousdevices that are not shown by FIG. 2, such as, for example a computertouch screen, an optional keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, acombination thereof, or other types of input devices can be incorporatedinto kiosk 100.

The microphone 204 captures samples of the visitor's speech. This can bedone without the visitor's knowledge, which is known as “unconsciouscapture.” Alternatively, the visitor's speech is sampled after obtainingprior permission, in which case the audio capture capability ofmicrophone 204 is activated after asking for, and receiving, thevisitor's permission. Microphone 204 can capture anything the visitormight say while standing near the kiosk. In specific embodiments usingconscious capture, the visitor is asked to “Please say your name,” forexample. The recorded audio can be forwarded to the person beingvisited, in order to help identify the visitor. The audio data can alsobe saved and used as training data for other algorithms that canidentify speakers in unlabeled audio tracks or to recognize the wordsthat the visitor spoke. For further description of techniques foridentifying individuals based upon audio data, reference may be had to aU.S. Pat. No. 5,946,654, issued to M. J. Newman, L. S. Gillick, and Y.Ito, entitled, “Speaker identification using unsupervised speechmodels,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

Video camera 206 provides interactive information gathering with thevisitor. For example, the visitor can be asked whether she would likeher picture taken. If the visitor responds in the affirmative, she posesin front of the camera and presses a “Take” button when she is ready forthe system to capture her picture. In some embodiments, the cameracaptures a short video clip. The clip can be captured in a time windowaround the time when the “Take” button is pushed, for example. A “best,”i.e., most web-framed single frame from the clip, can be chosen torepresent the visitor. In alternative embodiments, the video capture isperformed without the visitor's awareness. This is known as “unconsciouscapture.” Embodiments employing unconscious capture obviate the need fora “Take” button. Further, such embodiments capture an image of eachvisitor that signs-in at the kiosk. A video clip can be capturedstarting when the visitor first started logging in until shortly afterthey were finished, for example. Both the clip and the best single framefrom the clip can be saved.

In specific embodiments, more than one camera is used in order tocapture images of the visitor from different perspectives. For example,one of the cameras can be aimed to grab a frontal view full-face image.Other cameras can be deployed in the area nearby the kiosk and can beaimed to gather clips of the visitor viewed from different angles. Awide angle view taken from a location that is a known distance from thevisitor enables the system to determine the visitor's height. The videoclips can be used later to help identify the visitor in otherenvironments. If the clips show the visitor walking across the room, thevisitor can be identified using known techniques that demonstrate howpeople are often identifiable from a combination of their height, bodyshape, posture, and gait. For further description of techniques foridentifying individuals based upon these features, reference may be hadto a publication by D. Cunado, J. M. Nash, M. S. Nixon, and J. N.Carter, entitled, “Gait extraction and description by evidencegathering,” Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Audioand Video-based Person Identification, Washington, D.C., Mar. 22-23,1999, 43-48, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

In a specific embodiment, a plurality of close-up images of a visitorare combined to generate a three-dimensional representation for thevisitor. One specific embodiment employs a software product of Avatarme,Ltd. (www.avatar.com) to generate a three-dimensional representation ofthe visitor that can be used to identify the visitor later in otherenvironments.

The information captured by the visitor kiosk can be used to identifythe visitor at other office appliances. This provides automaticidentification for visitors at devices using unconscious capture. Inspecific embodiments, once the visitor kiosk supplies information abouta visitor to other devices in the facility, these devices can draw uponthis information later to identify the visitor. Thus, according to anembodiment of the present invention, a copy machine in the facility canrecognize that a specific visitor is requesting copy services based uponthe identification information gathered about the visitor at the visitorkiosk. The visitor kiosk can combine information about a particularvisitor's authorization to use certain devices to the networked machinesin the facility. These machines, upon recognizing the visitor, willdetermine whether the visitor is permitted to access that particularmachine.

The speaker 208 can enable the kiosk to play pre-recorded greetings.These can be generic greetings like, “Welcome to the Ricoh CaliforniaResearch Center,” or they can be tailored to individual visitors. Forexample, after scanning a business card for Mr. X, the kiosk can greetthe recognized visitor with, “Welcome to Our Company, Mr. X.” Inspecific embodiments, instructions for a visitor are read aloud. Acomputer synthesized voice, which can be provided by “DECtalk,” aproduct of Digital Equipment Corporation, for example, or bypre-recorded audio clips, can be used to provide the speech. The kiosk100 can also play music before or after a visitor signs in or atdifferent points during the sign-in process.

The docking station for visitor wands 210 provides a connection tovisitor wands 300. Visitor wands can be used as identity badges, forexample. Each visitor can be provided with a visitor wand and invited tocarry it while visiting the facility. In specific embodiments, thevisitor wand can record the visitor's location, who the visitor meetswith, and what is said during those meetings. This information can becompiled into a “visitor's diary,” a record of the visitor's experienceat the facility. The docking station for visitor wands 210 providesinformation about the times when wands are removed and replaced. Inconjunction with the user interface software of the visitor kiosk, theidentity of the visitor possessing each particular visitor wand istracked. The docking station also provides a mechanism for downloadingdata to and uploading data from a visitor wand. Visitor wands will bedescribed in further detail herein below with reference to FIGS. 3A-3C.

Handwritting tablet 212 captures the signature of the visitor at thekiosk, acting as a replacement for the sign-in sheet of conventionalreceptionists. The visitor is prompted by the user interface to writeher signature on the tablet. Preferably, a pressure-sensitive tablet isused. However, other types of writing tablets are used in variousspecific embodiments. The handwriting tablet captures the sample of thevisitor's signature to enable accurate verification of the visitor'ssignature subsequent to the visit. For a detailed description oftechniques for identifying individuals based upon handwriting, referencemay be had to a publication by R. Plamondon and G. Lorette, entitled,“Automatic signature verification: The state of the art,” PatternRecognition, 22, no. 2, 107-131, 1989, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

Biological and biometric sensors 214 interfaced to the kiosk computer202 provide data that can be used for subsequent biometricidentification of the visitor. Biological and biometric sensors 214collect information associated with a person's body functions, such as apersons weight, a body temperature, a heart rate, a respiratory rate,one or more fingerprints, and an odor. In a specific embodiment, weightis measured using a pad in front of the kiosk. Fingerprints are readthrough a special mouse, space bar on the keyboard, or touch screen. Fora detailed description of techniques for measuring weight, reference maybe had to a publication by M. D. Addlesee, A. H. Jones, F. Livesey, andE. S. Samaria, entitled, “The ORL Active Floor,” IEEE PersonalCommunications, Vol. 4, No. 5, October 1997, pp. 35-41(ftp://ftp.uk.research.att.com:/pub/docs/att'tr.97.11.pdf), which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In specific embodiments, biometric identification and/or visitor wandidentification is used to identify the visitor's presence at a networkedoffice machine, such as a copier, printer, facsimile machine, or thelike. Visitors with permission to use the machine are recognized bycomparing the visitor's biometric information with a known biometric“signature” for the visitor and authorization information gathered bythe visitor kiosk 100. Unconsciously captured images of the documentsthe visitor processes with the office machine can be sent to the visitorat the end of the visit.

The emotional state of the visitor can be recognized from a combinationof biological measurements. Techniques for inferring an emotional statefrom biological measurements are known in the art. The visitor'semotional state can be determined, and the results communicated to thepersons being visited. This information can assist persons being visitedin responding to unspoken needs of the visitor. For example, someone whois nervous because she is worried about something at home might enjoy anopportunity to make a telephone call. Accordingly, knowing the visitor'semotional state enables persons at the facility to take action toreassure the visitor.

The business card scanner 216 interfaces to the kiosk computer 202 andresides proximately with the visitor kiosk 100. Event-based softwarewithin the user interface of kiosk computer 202 controls the operationof the business card scanner 216. At an appropriate time whileinteracting with a visitor, the visitor inserts her business card intothe scanner. This is detected and the scanner's operation is started. Animage of the business card is obtained and saved. An optical characterrecognition (OCR) program is applied to the image either locally by thekiosk computer or remotely at the server 22. The result of the OCR isdisplayed to the visitor by the interface software of kiosk computer202. Fields such as the visitor's name are detected by the OCR and usedby the user interface to address the visitor. Visitors can be asked toconfirm the OCR results with a prompt on the display screen, or througha voice message, or the like. In specific embodiments, a two-sidedbusiness card scanner is used. These embodiments provide the capabilityto input information from foreign language business cards, such as forexample, those used in Japan, in which English and Japanese text appearon opposite sides of the business card. The OCR software can detectwhich language is present and automatically apply the appropriatealgorithms.

A variety of interfaces can connect the kiosk 100 to computer systems,networks, and the like, in order to provide information to persons inthe facility. A local network interface 220 enables communicationbetween the kiosk 100 and client computers and other devices on thelocal network 20, which can be a local area network (LAN), for example.The local network interface 220 connects kiosk 100 to a private server22 via the local network 20, for example. The private server 22 can be acompany internal use only computer accessible only to employees withinthe facility, for example. Private server 22 provides a convenient placeto store information about visitors, which has been gathered from one ormore kiosks deployed in one or more facilities. A browser (not shown)can access the visitor information on the server 22. A variety ofdevices (not shown) can communicate with kiosk 100 via network 20, suchas a networked copier, such as the eCabinet product by Ricoh, facsimilemachines, computers, and the like, for example.

A network interface 222 connects the kiosk 100 to a publicallyaccessible network 30 for communications with the public. The networkinterface 222 provides communications between the kiosk 100 andpublically accessible resources, such as sites on the world wide web. Apublic server 32 is connected to kiosk computer 202 via the network 30,network interface 222, and a firewall software application (not shown)to provide the public access to specific information about the visitorsand/or the facility, for example. A web browser (not shown) can providethe interface to this information.

A telephony interface 224 provides a telephone connection via the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN or POTS). The telephony interface 224provides the capability to persons within the facility to provideinformation to, and receive information from, the kiosk 100 bytelephone.

Network accessibility provides a variety of advantages in specificembodiments. For example, in one specific embodiment, a feed from thevideo camera at the kiosk is displayed on a computer monitor (not shown)of someone who expects a visitor. The computer monitor is interfaced tothe kiosk computer 202 via the network 20, for example. Personsexpecting a visitor can view the area around the kiosk for the arrivalof the visitor. This enables persons at the facility to greet thevisitor as soon as the visitor approaches the kiosk, thereby providing apersonalized greeting, if so desired. A client monitor (not shown) canprovide a real time indication of activity taking place at the keyboardand/or touch screen of the kiosk computer 202. The client monitor caninclude a live audio feed from the microphone 204 at the kiosk 100. Inspecific embodiments, the microphone 204 provides the audio feed withoutthe visitor being aware of its operation (unconscious capture).

Many kinds of system maintenance and updating functions are enabled bythe network interface. In a specific embodiment, once a visitor signs-inat the kiosk, a communication is entered into between kiosk computer 202and server 22. In this specific embodiment, the communication isimplemented using a Unix socket that is opened to a process on theserver 22. Then, the kiosk computer 202 sends a message that indicatesto the server 22 that a new visitor has arrived. Responsive to thismessage, a process on the server 22 opens an ftp connection, forexample, to the kiosk computer 202 and obtains copies of the filesassociated with the newly arrived visitor. These files can include forexample a business card image, a result of processing the business cardimae using an OCR, text data, a sound file, a video clip, and the like.The kiosk computer 202 can also respond to status requests made byserver 22 over network 20, for example. The kiosk computer 202 tracksits performance using a variety of statistical measures, such as a dateprogram started, a number of visitors, a date of last visitor logged in,and the like. In specific embodiments, statistical moments such as mean,mode, average, standard deviation, kurtosis, and the like, known in theart track numbers of visitors, their arrival times, and the like. Then,upon request by server 22, which may be made using a socket call, forexample, the kiosk computer 202 sends a list of logged events and/orstatistics to the requester. The server 22 can verify that the kiosk 100has been operating normally by analyzing the statistics sent to it bykiosk computer 202.

In a specific embodiment, the kiosk computer 202 sends email messagesover the network 20. These email messages can notify persons connectedto the network 20 that a visitor has arrived. These persons can identifythe visitor by the email messages. Attachments such as the sound, video,and/or still images of the visitor can be appended to the emails toassist in recognizing the visitor. The kiosk computer 202 also receivesemail messages, which it processes as commands. For example, an emailmessage sent to a visitor kiosk 100 at the address “kiosk@crc.ricoh.com”having “SHOW VISITORS” in the subject line will cause the kiosk toreturn a list of visitors and the dates that the visitors signed in atthe kiosk 100. The kiosk 100 can also receive notifications of visitorsto expect in this way. For example, an email message with, “VISITOR Aug.22, 1999 Masamitsu Sakurai,” informs the kiosk computer 202 that thisperson is expected on August 22. In a specific embodiment, thisinformation is used by the kiosk to post-process the results of applyingOCR software to an image obtained by scanning the visitor's businesscard. Further, in specific embodiments, the information from thenotification is used to populate the user interface. A pull-down menu,for example, is populated with the names of visitors that the kiosk hasbeen notified to expect. When one of the visitors arrives, she canselect her name from the pull-down menu. Information about expectedvisitors can also be used to notify persons expecting a visitor that aparticular visitor did not arrive. The user interface can also bemodified based on expected visitors. For example, if a visitor from aprominent company, X, is expected, photographs can be displayed on thescreen that highlight the facility's relationship with company X.

In a specific embodiment, the kiosk computer 202 comprises a web serverprogram, providing a stand-alone visitor information collection systemon the network 20. In this configuration, kiosk computer 202 maintains ahome page that shows the visitors processed by the kiosk 100, as well asthe person(s) visited. Users can query this information based uponparameters such as a visitor name, a host name, a date or a date range,a purpose, and an associated event. For example “show me all thevisitors in July who were here for the review meeting,” may be submittedas a query of the information stored by the visitor kiosk 100. In oneembodiment, a CGI script can be executed by the kiosk computer 202 inorder to retrieve the appropriate data and display it as a web page.Expected visitors can be entered with a CGI script at the web server 22.A forms interface can allow visitors to enter the date, name,organization, phone numbers, email address, purpose for visit, expectedtime of arrival, and agenda. This can include the names of people in thefacility and times when the visitor will meet with each one.

The network interface 222 provides connection to the world wide web viaexternal network 30. In specific embodiments, personal information aboutthe visitor can be gathered automatically from the world wide web. Forexample, a person to be visited may desire to research conversationtopics of interest to the visitor. The weather during the previous fewdays or weeks in the town that the visitor came from, standings andrecent results for the home sports teams, and the like, can be retrievedto form a “biographical profile” that can serve as a basis forconversation with the visitor. Recent cultural events, such as theatre,and the like, in the visitor's home towns can also be retrieved. PopularInternet sites, such as YAHOO™, for example, provide sources from whichthis data might be extracted. The weather during the visitor's previousvisit, as well as a list of significant news stories at that time mightbe provided if the visitor is making a return visit to the facility.This information can be transmitted to the person to be visited via anemail message before the visitor is scheduled to arrive.

The compilation of biographical information can also include securityrelated information, which may be useful in cases where the visitor hasnot previously visited the facility. For example, searching onlinenewspapers for the visitor's name can answer a plurality of securityrelated questions. Did the visitor recently write a letter to theEditor? Was the visitor arrested recently? Is the visitor on the FBI'sten most-wanted list? Should Security be alerted? Newspapers in the townwhere the visitor is from can be searched for recent locally significantnews stories. Further, one or more databases can be searched for thevisitor's name. These databases include readily available archives ofgenealogy information, ham radio licensees, aircraft pilots, departmentof motor vehicles (DMV) data, such as driver's licenses andregistrations, voter registration, property ownership and tax roles andvarious criminal registries.

Visitor information obtained from the world wide web and other externalsources can be augmented with information stored in a database residingon server 22, or directly on the kiosk computer 202, about the visitor'spersonal interests. This information can also be entered with an“expected visitor” web form. For example, information about the kind ofcar a visitor drives, the visitors hobbies (e.g., golf), what thevisitor likes to eat, and where the visitor was taken to lunch or dinnerduring the previous visit can be incorporated into the biographicalprofile of the visitor. This can be compared with an online restaurantguide to determine suggested resturants to take the visitor during herstay. A history of the visitor's hotel stays can be used to suggestwhere the visitor should be housed.

The public server 32 that is connected to publically accessiblecommunciation network 30 enables the world wide web to be used as afocal point for follow-up communication with visitors. As describedherein above, a visitor is assigned a web page upon visiting thefacility. Each time the visitor comes to the facility, the web page isupdated with a record of the most recent visit. Information such as whomthe visitor met with, (with or without images), meeting notes, and thelike, is posted on the visitor's web page. Other information could alsobe included, such as for example, what the weather was like the day ofthe visitor's last visit, what the headlines were, and the like. Inaddition, any technical reports or literature that the visitor receivedduring the visit can be posted to the web page. In embodiments employingan extranet, a person inside the company can securely share selectedinformation with a customer by posting the information to thatcustomer's web page. This can be useful beyond mere face-to-face visits,and can be extended to cover any ongoing relationship, even if initiatedvia email or telephone. Specific embodiments can provide the personsbeing visited with a mechanism to control distribution of information bytracking whom they met with and what was discussed. Further, specificembodiments can assist the forgetful visitor with remembering what wasdiscussed in meetings held during the visit.

The telephony interface 224 provides the capability to contact visitorsand persons to be visited by telephone. When a visitor registers at thekiosk and indicates who they are visiting, the person to be visited canbe contacted by telephone. The kiosk notifies them that a visitor hasarrived. If the person to be visited does not answer, a designatedalternate is telephoned. The kiosk plays a pre-recorded message to theperson to be visited or the alternate. If the name of the visitor isavailable (from the business card OCR results or if it was manuallyentered), it can be incorporated into the message by a speechsynthesizer. The telephony interface also enables the kiosk to act as aspeakerphone. If the person to be visited answers the telephone callfrom the kiosk, a connection is opened with the visitor. This allows thehost to greet the visitor and let the visitor know that the host willarrive at the kiosk shortly to escort the visitor in the facility. Avideo link can also be added to the interface to make this communicationa video conference.

In some embodiments, the kiosk 100 also receives telephone calls viatelephony interface 224. In these embodiments, the kiosk 100 is equippedwith a touch tone interface that enables the caller to execute variousoptions. One option is to check the status of expected visitors. Anotheroption is to leave a voice message for an expected visitor, which can beplayed when the visitor arrives. The host for a visitor can be changedand an expected visitor can be added or deleted using a touch toneinterface.

In specific embodiments, security devices (not shown), such as a metaldetector or an explosives detector can be incorporated to the kiosk.These embodiments can provide greater security to persons working insecure areas. In a specific embodiment, a detector for RF transmissionor reception can detect the presence of listening devices on thevisitor. A detailed description of various examples of commerciallyavailable sensors useful in creating certain specific embodiments may behad by referring to, “The Spy Store” (http://www.thespystore.com).

In specific embodiments, a printer (not shown) interfaces with visitorkiosk 100. In certain specific embodiments, the visitor receives aprinted “receipt” from the printer after signing in with the kiosk. Thereceipt can include a URL assigned uniquely to the visitor. The URLpoints to the web page created for the the visitor, which can be locatedon the public server 32. The web page provides a place to accessinformation collected about the visitor and the visit. Other potentiallyuseful information can be printed on the “receipt,” such as what haschanged since the visitor's last trip to the facility.

The operation of these and other components of specific embodimentsaccording to the present invention will be discussed in greater detailbelow. In various specific embodiments, not all of these components willbe present. Yet further, in many embodiments, other components can beincluded. These modifications will be readily apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 3A illustrates a visitor wand in a specific embodiment according tothe present invention. Visitor wand 300 illustrated in FIG. 3A isembodied as a hand held device having a display area 302 for providingmessages to the visitor and displaying to the visitor entries made usinga keypad 304. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A, the keypad 304comprises a “qwerty” style key arrangement. However, other arrangements,including subsets and supersets of the “qwerty” key layout, are used inother specific embodiments. A hand grip 306 provides comfortable contourto the visitor's hand. A video camera 310 is incorporated into the wandin certain embodiments. A plurality of biometric sensors 312 a and 312 bcan detect biological information about the visitor, such as heart rateand the like. Visitor wand 300 can guide the visitor in the facility. Anitinerary for the visitor can be stored on visitor wand 300 prior to thevisitor's arrival. The visitor wand 300 then displays the itinerarytogether with directions for the visitor at specific intervals duringthe day. For example, at 10:00 AM, visitor wand 300 might display themessage, “take the elevator to the fourth floor, turn right, walk 50feet to room 561.” An alternative is to display directions graphicallyusing a map.

The visitor wand 300 further comprises an audio recorder. A microphone308 and audio recording circuitry (not shown) provide the capability tosave a copy of notes from meetings that the visitor attends as shetravels through the facility. Recorded information can be stored in thewand 300. The recordings can be parameterized by the identity of thepersons to be visited, computed as described above. This allows easyretrieval later, either by the visitor or the person to be visited. Forexample, the visitor may wish to make queries like “please retrieve theconversation I had with Ms. X on August 9.”

The video camera 310 is incorporated into the wand 300 in order torecord the visitor's activities and experiences while at the facility.Its record can be supplemented with still images or video clips capturedfrom other cameras in the facility. For example, an image from thecamera in a particular room can be captured and saved on the wand, oralternatively on a server, when the visitor is in that room. For adetailed description of a technique for capturing video recordings,reference may be had to a publication by M. Eldridge, M. Lamming, and M.Flynn, entitled, “Does a Video Diary Help Recall?” Technical ReportEPC-1991-124, published in People and Computers VII, A. Monk et. al.(ed.), Cambridge University Press, 1992, pp. 257-269.

Biological sensors 312 a and 312 b detect heart rate, heat, odor, andthe like. These sensors can help identify the wand user and help detectif a wand is passed from one person to another. Sensors 312 a and 312 bcan also detect biometric data from which the emotional state of thevisitor can be determined. This information can assist persons at thefacility in improving the experience of the visitor. For example, avisitor who is determined to be excessively nervous can be offered a cupof herbal tea.

In specific embodiments, an inertial sensor (not shown) can beincorporated into the wand. For a detailed description of techniques forsensing inertia, reference may be had to a publication by Marc A.Viredaz, entitled “The Itsy Pocket Computer Version 1.5: User's Manual,”Technical Note TN-54, Compaq Western Research Laboratory, July 1998,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes. It can indicate when the wand was stationary for long periodsof time. This might indicate the visitor removed it from his person.

In specific embodiments, visitor wand 300 maintains a wirelesscommunication with one or more transceivers located in the facilityusing an antenna 316 coupled to internal communications circuitry (notshown). Visitor wand 300 can comprise circuitry (not shown) that enablesit to determine a distance to other transceivers in the facility. Thefacility is equipped with a multiplicity of fixed transceivers, fromwhich the wand 300 determines its position by triangulation. Thispositional information is also transmitted by the fixed transceivers toa common point, such as kiosk 100, which serves as a “base” station.

The microphone 308, speaker 314, antenna 316, and associated circuitry(not shown) provide telephone functionality to the wand. A visitor cancontact a person to be visited using the telephone by scrolling a cursorto the person's name in the display 302 and pressing a button in keypad304. The visitor wand establishes a telephone connection with theselected person. Similarly, a person to be visited can contact a visitorby calling the phone number of the wand that the visitor was issued.This number is recorded by the kiosk computer 202 and communicated tothe person to be visited listed in the visitor's itinerary. The numbercan be posted on a web page accessible using the network 20, as well.

FIG. 3B illustrates a representative visitor wand in an alternativeembodiment according to the present invention. Visitor wand 320illustrated in FIG. 3B is embodied as a hand held appliance havingcellular telephone communications capability. Wand 320 has a displayarea 322 for providing messages to the visitor and displaying to thevisitor entries made on a keypad 324. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3B, the keypad 324 comprises an alphameric style key arrangement.However, other arrangements including subsets and supersets of astandard “qwerty” key layout are used in other specific embodiments. Amicrophone 328, a speaker 334, and audio recording circuitry (not shown)provide audio input and output capability. The microphone 328, speaker334 and an antenna 336 also provide telephone access via the wand. Avideo camera 330 can be incorporated into this embodiment, as well. Aplurality of biometric sensors 332 a and 332 b can detect biologicalinformation about the visitor, such as heart rate and the like.

FIG. 3C illustrates a representative visitor wand in a furtheralternative embodiment according to the present invention. The visitorwand 340 of FIG. 3C is embodied as a personal data assistant (PDA) styledevice. The wand 340 comprises a digital writing pad 344 with whichvisitors can input data, such as notes, for example. The notes can bestored in memory of the wand 340 for later retrieval. Wand 340 has adisplay area 342 for providing messages to the visitor and displaying tothe visitor the entries made on the writing pad 344. A microphone 348, aspeaker 354, and audio recording circuitry (not shown) provide audioinput and output capability. The microphone 348, speaker 354 and anantenna 336 provide telephone access via the wand. A video camera 350can be incorporated into this embodiment, as well. A plurality ofbiometric sensors 352 a and 352 b can detect biological informationabout the visitor, such as heart rate and the like.

A record of whom a visitor meets with can be compiled using atriangulation technique in conjunction with a fixed physical position ofpersons visited. The physical position of a person can be determinedfrom an accurate mapping between an assumed and an actual physicalposition of persons to be visited. This mapping can be determined froman office layout, or the like. For example, a person “A” holding aparticular visitor wand, who is in the facility to visit person “B,”will be located by the signal from a visitor wand in close proximity tothe office of person “B.” Another option is to require persons to bevisited to carry a transceiver similar to a visitor wand. In this case,the person to be visited can be assumed to be the person with the wandthat is physically closest to the visitor.

Microphones in the facility, not attached to the wand, can supplementthe visitor wand's recording capability. These extra microphones can beattached to the fixed transceivers described above, or through someother connection. In one configuration, the wand transmits its positionand the audio signal it is recording to a base station. The base stationalso receives audio input from other microphones in the facility. Thebase station determines which microphones are “active” given thephysical position of the wand. The audio from each such activemicrophone is captured and savend. Alternatively, the audio from themicrophone with a highest audio level is saved. Audio signals frommultiple microphones can also be compared to verify the choice of anon-wand microphone, whenever a reduced amplitude signal from a non-wandmicrophone is present in the background of the sound recorded on thewand microphone. An alternative to choosing one audio track is to savemore than one audio track from the set of active microphones. The Nclearest signals from the active microphones might be chosen.Alternatively, the signals from all active microphones can be saved.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a representative hardwareimplementation for a visitor wand in a specific embodiment according tothe present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates visitor wand 300 that isprovided with an antenna 316 coupled to a high-frequency circuit 420. Anaudio circuit unit 430 connects the high-frequency circuit 420 with thespeaker 314 and the microphone 308. The audio circuit unit 430 and thehigh-frequency circuit 420 are connected to a CPU 460 that controlsvarious functions of the components of visitor wand 300. The CPU 460controls the high-frequency circuit unit 420 and the audio circuit unit430 according to a control program stored in a memory 480 that isconnected to the CPU 460. Memory 480 comprises RAM, flash RAM, and/orROM in various specific embodiments. The CPU 460 is also connected tothe keypad 304 and the display 302, which provide input and output ofinformation to/from the visitor. The CPU 460 displays on the displayunit 302 information necessary for communication, such as a state of aconnection, a telephone number of a person being telephoned, an e-mailaddresses, e-mail data to be received or transmitted, and the like, aswell as information necessary for the user of the visitor wand 300. TheCPU 460 is connected to an I/O port 466, which provides interface to aplurality of sensors and devices. For example, camera 310, biometricsensors 312 a, and 312 b, and so forth, are connected with, andaccessible by, CPU 460 via I/O port 466.

While the preceeding explanation refers to the visitor wand 300illustrated by FIG. 3A, this explanation is intended as merely anexample, and is not intended to be limiting. Further, the visitor wandsof embodiments illustrated by FIGS. 3B-3C are realized using similarcomponents and techniques as discussed above with reference to FIG. 4.Thus, further discussion of the internal hardware of these embodimentswill be omitted for brevity.

FIG. 5 illustrates a representative flowchart of processing visitorinformation in a specific embodiment according to the present invention.FIG. 5 illustrates a step 502 of recording information about a visitorat the visitor kiosk 100. Then, in a step 504, the information is placedin a format for storage. In a specific embodiment, the information isplaced in HTML format. However, a variety of other formats are used inspecific embodiments. Next, in a step 508, the information is stored ina database. The database can be located in a sever 22 connected to thevisitor kiosk 100. In another embodiment, the information can be storedlocally in a database resident at the visitor kiosk 100. In a step 508,information about the visitor can be obtained from the database, as wellas a variety of other sources, such as for example, the Internet, worldwide web, and the like. Next, in a step 510, the information about thevisitor is provided to users of the information. The users can query andretrieve the information about the visitor using their workstations, orreceive information on a telephone, for example. In various specificembodiments, the order of these steps can be altered. Further, in someembodiments, not all of these steps will be present. Yet further, inmany embodiments, other steps can be included. These modifications willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

FIGS. 6A-6M illustrate representative screens displayed during arepresentative greeting session with a specific embodiment according tothe present invention. FIG. 6A illustrates a representative welcomingscreen. Welcoming screens can comprise displays of information as partof a greeting, including a slide show of images or products,advertisements, updated stock values, and daily cartoons, for example.Information can be selected according to local preferences and can varydepending upon target audience. Here, the welcome screen includes apicture of the facility being visited 601. The visitor can select apreferred language using the touch screen, keyboard, or mouse to selectfrom the language buttons 602.

FIG. 6B illustrates a screen presenting the visitor with a plurality ofpersons from which a person to be visited can be selected. In thisspecific embodiment, persons are indicated by selection buttons 605having the persons' name. However, in alternative embodiments, theselection buttons can be images of the person, for example. Someselection buttons can be used to indicate a group of persons 606. In thespecific embodiment illustrated by FIG. 6B, an “Unknown” button 607 anda “Restart” button 608 enable the visitor to indicate she does not knowthe name of the person to be visited or that she would like to begin thesign-in process again, respectively.

FIG. 6C illustrates a representative screen in which the visitor canspecify a purpose of the visit. The visitor can select a purpose using ascrolling window 610. Selection can be made by moving a cursor with amouse, trackball, or keyboard, or by using a touch screen. The visitorcan indicate to the kiosk that the selection is complete using a “Done”key 611. In this embodiment, the visitor can also select a “Back” button612, or a “Restart” button 613. In another specific embodiment, the usertypes the purpose for the visit manually using a keyboard.

FIG. 6D illustrates a representative prompt screen to scan a businesscard, or manually enter the visitor's pertinent information using akeyboard. This screen provides a textual instruction 615, as well aspicture examples 616, to assist the visitor in inputting a businesscard. In this embodiment, the visitor can also select a “Back” button617, or a “Restart” button 618.

FIG. 6E illustrates an instruction screen for scanning the visitor'sbusiness card. This screen provides a textual instruction 620, as wellas picture examples 621, to assist the visitor in inputting a businesscard. In this embodiment, the visitor can also select a “Back” button622, or a “Restart” button 623.

FIG. 6F illustrates representative screen for prompting the visitor toenter a name and an organization name. The screen of FIG. 6F can bedisplayed if the visitor has selected manual entry of this informationresponsive to the screen of FIG. 6D, or if the business card scanner wasunable to read the visitor's business card for some reason. FIG. 6Fprovides a textual instruction 625, a name field 626 and an organizationfield 627. The visitor can enter the appropriate information into namefield 626 and organization field 627 using the keyboard, for example, orother input device. In this embodiment, the visitor can also select a“Back” button 628 a, a “Next” button 628 b, or a “Restart” button 629.

FIG. 6G illustrates a representative screen requesting the visitor'spermission to take a picture. This screen provides a textual message 630and an image 631. The visitor can select from either a “Yes” button 632or a “No” button 633. In this embodiment, the visitor can also select a“Restart” button 634.

FIG. 6H illustrates a representative screen showing the visitor theimage provided by the camera 635. The visitor can take the picture byselecting the “Take” button 636. In this embodiment, the visitor canalso select a “Back” button 637, or a “Restart” button 638. A textualmessage 639 prompts the visitor with instructions. In a specificembodiment, the camera 635 can capture a plurality of pictures of thevisitor automatically. Then, the plurality of pictures is presented tothe user so that the user can select one or more of the plurality ofpictures using a mouse, or other pointing device, or the keyboard. Inthese embodiments, the visitor does not have to select the “Take”button.

FIG. 6I illustrates a representative results screen showing the visitorthe image acquired, along with the visitor's information. The visitormay make changes to the text using an “Edit Text” button 640, or retakethe picture by selecting the “New Picture” button 641. In thisembodiment, the visitor can also select a “Restart” button 642. When thevisitor is satisfied with the image, the visitor can select the “Done”button 643 to continue. In an alternative embodiment, the stepsillustrated by FIGS. 6H-6I are replaced with a single prompt enablingthe user to select from a plurality of images that are captured by thecamera automatically. The images are captured automatically responsiveto the visitor providing permission to take her picture by selecting the“Yes” button 632 in FIG. 6G. In this embodiment, the informationgathered about the visitor is displayed 644. Optionally, the kiosk canretrieve information about the visitor's previous visit and display itas well 645.

FIG. 6J illustrates a representative prompt screen for recording thevisitor's speech. The visitor is invited to say her name with a textmessage 646. The visitor can select the “Done” button 647 when complete.FIG. 6K illustrates a representative screen prompting the visitor ifanother person is present with the visitor 650. The visitor can reply byselecting the appropriate button. If the visitor selects the “Yes”button 651, the next visitor is provided with the same promptsillustrated by FIGS. 6A-6K. Otherwise, if the visitor selects the “No”button 652, the welcome screen illustrated in FIG. 6L is displayed. Inthis embodiment, the visitor can also select a “Restart” button 653.

FIG. 6L illustrates a representative final screen displayed atcompletion of a session with a visitor. In this embodiment, the screenincludes a textual message 655. The visitor is also provided with a lastopportunity to restart the session by selecting a “Restart” button 656.

FIG. 6M illustrates a representative example HTML representation of avisitor that is created from the information gathered by the visitorkiosk 100 in a specific embodiment according to the present invention.Representation 660 comprises a digitized image 661 of the visitor, and adigitized image 662 of the visitor's business card. In some embodiments,images of both sides of a two sided business card will be included. Arepresentative textual title 663 indicates the name of the visitor, andthe date and time of the visit. A URL 664 provides the address of theweb page for this visitor. A data field 665 provides a link to resultsof an OCR program that has been applied to the visitor's business card.A handling field 666 provides a link to a print process, which providesa mechanism for printing the visitor's information. For example, a copyof the visitor's business card image or a formatted copy of thevisitor's web page information can be printed. A searching field 667provides a mechanism for entering a search parameters for informationabout the visit. For example, a user can search for information about avisitor's previous visits, search for documents containing the visitor'sname, or find other visitors who accompanied a particular visitor. Acommunications field 668 provides links to send the visitor informationby email, or publish the visitor information on the world wide web. Invarious specific embodiments, not all of these fields will be present.Yet further, in many embodiments, other fields can be included. Thesemodifications will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart.

FIG. 7 illustrates a representative example technique for trackingvisitor wands in a specific embodiment according to the presentinvention. FIG. 7 illustrates visitor kiosk 100 connected by network 20to a plurality of locators, including locators 700, 702 and 704 that arespread throughout the facility. Locators 700-704 communicate via awireless communication link to a representative visitor wand 340. Usinga global positioning system (GPS) (not shown), the locators 700-704 candetermine a position of a visitor within the facility when the visitorwand 340 is in communication with any of the locators 700-704. Inspecific embodiments, visitor position information at various timeintervals is gathered and recorded. From such data, one or morehistories can be prepared. For example, a personal history for thevisitor comprises where the visitor has been within the facility.Another type of history, called a location history, comprises who hasvisited a particular location within communication range of one of theplurality of locators 700-704. Other types of histories can also becompiled. For example, histories tracking meeting locations and/orfrequency, visitor wand use, and the like are compiled in specificembodiments.

The visitor wand 340 communicates information to the locator 700. Thisinformation comprises, for example, an identifier, or business cardinformation, a visitor name, a URL of a homepage, and the like. Thelocator 700 communicates information to the visitor wand 340, as well.For example, in a representative embodiment, the locator 700communicates a locator box descriptive identifier, a locator box URL, ageographical location, such as longitude/latitude, for example, acurrent time of day, and the like to the visitor wand 340. In a specificembodiment, both the personal and location histories are updated with atime stamped event, such as the arrival of a visitor possessing aparticular visitor wand. In the case of the personal history, the eventcan include details about the location. In particular, the URL of thelocator box 700 enables the user to subsequently retrieve informationsuch as attendees of a meeting other than the visitor, for example. Thelocation history can include details about the visitor. Various specificembodiments include other types of capture devices, readily apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art, to augment these histories. Forexample, in a specific embodiment, a passive badge or ID card is used toimplement the visitor wand 340. A variety of communications technologiescan be used to provide communication between the visitor wand 340 andthe locators 700-704. For example, Bluetooth™, direct connection, visual(e.g., as used by Timex™ Data Link™ watch), mobile phone, a pager or ashort messaging service (SMS), magnetic card reading, infrared link, andthe like provide the communications path in specific embodiments.Further, the locator 700 can connect to the Internet by a wirelessconnection.

FIG. 8 illustrates a representative visitor information look upprocedure in a specific embodiment according to the present invention.In specific embodiments, information about a visitor can be used toprovide a personal name lookup function. FIG. 8 illustrates aworkstation 850 viewing an email document 840. When reading a document,such as the email 840 depicted on the screen of workstation 850, theuser can invoke the personal name lookup function by clicking a browserbutton, or a button on a user's toolbar, for example. The source for thedocument 840 is passed to a process that implements the personal namelookup function. The personal name lookup process scans the document 840to locate personal names. Then, the personal name lookup processrequests information about the persons from the server 22. Personalnames in the document for which there are records on the server 22 canbe replaced by a hypertext link 825 to these records. These hypertextlinks can point to the record of visits that a person has made to thecompany, for example. The user clicks the hypertext link 825 to open anassociated record 810 of the visitor's information. The user may viewinformation about the visitor stored in the associated record 810. Forexample, the user may indicate that she wishes to view a picture of thevisitor by selecting the hypertext link 825 with the mouse. The pictureof the visitor can serve to refresh the user's memory about that person.Specific embodiments incorporating personal name lookup provide asolution to the problem of name-to-face mapping.

In an alternative embodiment, the personal name lookup function isimplemented using a proxy. Accordingly, the hypertext links 825 areautomatically inserted. In another specific embodiment, the world wideweb is searched for home pages or email addresses associated with eachperson's name using, one of a variety of popular search engines in websites such as for example, http://www.whowhere.lycos.com, and the like.

In an alternative embodiment, a portable visitor kiosk comprising adigital camera and an option portable card scanner is provided. Softwarerunning on the camera enables persons being visited to take pictures ofthe people they meet. These persons can speak their names, affiliations,reason for meeting, into a microphone attached to the camera, or typethis information using a keypad on the camera. This data can bemaintained on the camera or it can be downloaded to a server 22. In aspecific embodiment, the information can be sold as a web service.

The preceding has been a description of the preferred embodiment of theinvention. It will be appreciated that deviations and modifications canbe made without departing from the scope of the invention, which isdefined by the appended claims.

1. A system for tracking activity within a facility, said systemcomprising: a plurality of locator apparatuses; a network,interconnecting said plurality of locator apparatuses; and at least oneof a plurality of portable visitor wands; wherein, said at least one ofa plurality of portable visitor wands communicates an identity to atleast one of said plurality of locator apparatuses; and wherein said atleast one of said plurality of locator apparatuses track position of avisitor based upon said communicated identities.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein said communication is performed by at least one selected froman infrared communication link, a radio communication link, an opticalcommunication link, sensing a magnetic card, a telephone communicationlink, a pager communication link, and a Bluetooth™ communication link.3. The system of claim 1, wherein said locator apparatuses are furtheroperative to provide a history of visitors to at least one of saidlocator apparatuses.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said locatorapparatuses are further operative to provide a history of locatorapparatuses visited by a particular visitor.